A Hair-Raising Tale
by wingweaver84
Summary: "All men must have short hair,right?" A five year old Kenji has a revelation and tries to follow through on it...though not in a way that is acceptable.


A Hair-Raising Tale

Author's Notes:  
I just recently rediscovered Rurouni Kenshin. The idea for this came from the last chapter of the manga where Kenshin is depicted with short hair. I'm assuming he just cut it when he stopped practicing swordsmanship,but then I got another idea. I also can't be the only one out there who thinks the shorter hairstyle suits him.

As a side note:I am STILL trying to figure out how to write "Scariest Place on Earth" but I am having some real trouble with it. Whether I actually get it finished or not,I don't know. But for now,maybe the shorter stories would be better.  
Read on and enjoy!

~Kenji rubbed his eyes as he woke up from his nap.

Shuffling around the house,he caught a glimpse of his father leaning against the frame of the back door. He was asleep and looking rather peaceful,an expression that Kenshin rarely wore. The recently-washed laundry hung from the line,swaying in the warm breeze of summer. There had been no point in cooking as Kaoru had promised a dinner at the Akabeko later on that evening with some of the money she'd earn from her private tutoring.

Footsteps appeared as Yahiko entered the house. An excited Kenji hovered around him,hoping to get some affection from the man he considered his big brother. Yahiko had just finished teaching three straight sessions of classes in Kaoru's absence and was about ready to call it quits.

With a ruffle of Kenji's hair,Yahiko sat down on the floor opposite Kenshin,careful not to wake the redhead from his slumber. He set the reverse-blade sword down beside him and dozed off himself,leaving a disappointed child alone. There wasn't really any worry that Kenji could seriously hurt himself. When he came into the world,his parents tried to babyproof the entire house.

However,sharp objects,which Kenji knew quite well,were always off limits.

Kenji looked back and forth at the two sleeping men,and noticed something peculiar:specifically,the hairstyles of Yahiko and Kenshin.  
Yahiko's hair was short,but his father's-and his own-was long. Uncle Sano had short hair too,as did ,Saito, ...were all men supposed to have short hair?

A small,but unheard,wail of realization came out of Kenji. His hair was too long! He started to pull his tiny ponytail in an attempt to get rid of it. Of course that failed.

He then decided,with the cold hard logic of a five year old,it must be cut. Such logic also dictated that he couldn't do it himself.

Daddy's hair was too long,too. _That_ was something that Kenji could do! And it'd look really neat! But what to cut it with? Mommy didn't let him near anything sharp.

His blue eyes drifted downward to where Yahiko had laid the sword.

~Kaoru was exhausted. The money was well worth putting up with the spoiled brat she had been hired to teach,but her head and feet started to hurt. The only thing on her mind now was changing out of her gi and going to eat at the Akabeko. She was _starving_.

Her tired soul brightened when her home appeared in her sights.

As she entered the gate,she heard loud screams. One sounded like absolute horror,the other seemed to be of laughter.

She rushed into the house like a madwoman and was instantly greeted with the sight of red hair strewn all over the floor. The breeze from the open door scattered the hair further into the house. _That can't be good_,she thought to herself.

Along with the hair,Kaoru noticed long scratches in the wood. Almost like someone had been dragging something sharp along the floor.  
Her heart started to race. _Had there been an intruder?_,she started to wonder. She wasn't sure who the hair belonged to,but if the interloper had hurt her family,they were going to _die_.

The grip on her wooden sword tightened.

She silently followed the trail of hair until she reached the back door,where she was met with a most interesting scene.

The first thing she saw was Yahiko,sprawled on his back with his arms and legs flailing everywhere. He was laughing so hard that his face had turned red as a beet.

Her eyes then moved to Kenshin,who was crying hysterically. His beautiful red hair had been shortened to an insane degree,with the remains of his ponytail spilled all over the floor. Kenshin's hands were grasped to the back of his head,fingers feeliing for the hair that was no longer there. As a sudden breeze blew into the house,it sent the trimmings into a spiral and eventually back outside. Kenshin's right hand valiantly tried to grasp the hairs,but it was all in vain. "_Don't go_,"he whispered.

Finally there was Kenji,awkwardly holding the reverse-blade sword (thankfully by the hilt) in his tiny hands. The blade,to Kaoru's astonishment,was covered in strands of red hair.

Her son looked up at her and proudly grinned. "I gave Daddy a haircut since men can only have short hair!,"he announced.

"_Kenji!_"

Kaoru swiftly (but gently) removed the sword from her son's hands. The smile on Kenji's face faded when he saw his mother's angry expression.

Kaoru pointed to the corner. "Go wait over there while I talk to your father and Yahiko!,"she ordered. The boy lowered his head and slowly moved to the dark corner. He tried to hide his sniffles because,after all,men don't cry.

At least,not in front of women. That's what Uncle Sano told him.

~"What were you _thinking_,leaving that thing where Kenji could grab it?!,"Kaoru yelled at Yahiko.

"Give me a break,"Yahiko muttered. "I got through teaching three classes,I was tired."

"Oh,I'm sorry,"Kaoru retorted sarcastically. "I spent the _entire day_,not including three hours there and three hours back _walking_ because my employer was too cheap to send transport,teaching a spoiled rich,know it all punk how to wield a wooden sword! And who said you could lounge around the place when you've got Tsubame to go home to?!"

"Tsubame's been working more lately,"Yahiko scoffed. "How she's doing it when she's sick in the mornings is beyond me,but anyway..."

"Wow. Still clueless as ever,I see,"Kaoru commented. "Three months in and you still can't pick up the signs."

"What,that she's been eating bad food? The quality of the food at the Akabeko's gone downhill,apparently. She's a glutton for punishment." Yahiko started cleaning his ear with his pinky finger.

Kaoru resisted all the urges to pound the young swordsman to a pulp. "I thought I could trust you two to watch my son,"she hissed through her clenched teeth. "I thought there was nothing that he could do that could cause even the remotest amount of chaos. But I was wrong,wasn't I?" She glared over at her husband. "Are you listening to me,Kenshin?"

Kenshin held back a sob as he stared at himself in the mirror. "It's all gone,"he murmured. "I'm a shell of my former self." He rubbed his fingers along the scar on his cheek. "At least I still have _some_ form of my identity left."

Kaoru rolled her eyes. A smile threatened to break her angry exterior. No. She had to stand firm on this. "Aren't you being a bit dramatic?,"she asked.

A pair of watery violet eyes,not unlike those of a small puppy,was her only response.

_Ok,_she conceded. _I really can't stay mad at that,can I?And it is more Yahiko's fault than it is Kenshin's._

"You know,"Kaoru admitted,"you do look really good with the short hair."

"I...I do?,"Kenshin whimpered.

Kaoru nodded. "Yeah,you do,"she confirmed.

A huge grin appeared on Kenshin's face.

Yahiko's slow inching towards the door didn't escape her attention. She whipped out her wooden sword and pointed it at her former student. "Where do you think _you're_ going?,"she snarled. "_We_ haven't finished our little lecture."

"I-I'll go have a talk with Kenji,"Kenshin said before quickly fleeing the scene. Truthfully,he didn't want to witness the unholy wrath of his wife,that he did not.

~A tall shadow hovered over Kenji as he continued to stand in the corner. The odd sniffle still filled the air.

"We need to talk,Kenji,that we do,"his father told him. He took Kenji's small hand in his own,the boy's other hand being used to wipe away the stray tears that he had been trying to hide during his time in the corner.

Kenshin led his son down the hall,away from the verbal and physical abuse Kaoru was currently piling on Yahiko. They entered an empty room and Kenshin slid the door closed behind them. Sitting down on the floor,Kenshin looked straight at Kenji,disappointment in his face.

"Kenji,"Kenshin began,"why did you cut my hair?" There was no tone of anger in his voice,merely a tinge of sadness.

The boy stared at the floor,unable to look his father in the eyes. He knew he couldn't lie,that was also a no-no. Telling the truth may not keep him out of trouble,but he knew it was better to do it.

"All men have short hair,"Kenji answered,"and I thought maybe we should too."

_Who told him that?_,Kenshin wondered to himself. He supposed it was likely Sano. They'd have a talk later about that.

"You used Yahiko's sword,"he continued. "Didn't we tell you not to go near sharp objects,especially swords?"

Kenji didn't lift his gaze. "Yes."

The tears threatened to fall again. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep them from doing so.

"Why did we tell you that?"

"Because I could hurt myself."

"So why did you disobey us?"

"Because there wasn't anything else to cut hair with."

"Cutting someone else's hair requires permission,"Kenshin stated firmly. "You can't just go giving people haircuts without asking." His tone grew more serious. "And you know you are not allowed near swords,no matter who they belong to and what kind of sword they are. Swords are not toys,they are weapons. They can be used to harm and even kill people. That's not something I ever want you to experience,do you understand?"

Kenji gulped. It was a rare situation when his father took such a harsh tone towards him.

"Kenji."

The boy opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at his father. Kenshin's expression was dead serious and left no room for argument.

"Do you understand me?"

Kenji nodded.

"Good,because I do not want to repeat this conversation,that I don't,"Kenshin continued. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Well,let's go see if your mother's ready for our dinner outing." He slid the door open. "And Kenji..."

"Yes?"

"Stop listening to your Uncle Sano."

~When the two returned to the door,they discovered Kaoru wiping the floor with Yahiko like a mop. Literally,like with a wooden sword stuck in Yahiko's back like a handle. "I just need to change and I'll be right with you,"Kaoru said cheerfully. She ran off,leaving three very scared (and one in severe pain) males taking a silent vow not to piss Kaoru off ever again.

As she ran,a small sewing kit flew from her pocket. Unnoticed,Kenji picked it up.

"By the way,"Kaoru said coldly upon her return,dropping something on the floor by Yahiko's face. "Give this to Tsubame. I'm sure she'd like it." With that,the family left the house,leaving the younger swordsman still lying on the floor.

The object Kaoru had dropped was a small giftbox.

Yahiko opened the box and peeked inside.

It was a child-sized yukata.

"What would Tsubame want this for?,"Yahiko muttered. "It's way too small for her."

~As expected,Kaoru laid down the law harder than Kenshin did,resulting in a bawling Kenji in the middle of the Akabeko with most of the customers staring at them. Kaoru was going to make Yahiko hide his sword everytime he entered the house and Kenji was not allowed in the dojo until he was at least ten. Then his mother would start training him properly,but only to use a wooden sword. She did,as well,hint that Kenji could have his hair cut if he would like,but the boy decided he liked his hair the way it was. At least for now.

Tae gave Kenji some sweets to cheer him up a bit,and Kenshin found himself getting more than a few compliments on his new hairstyle. Kaoru told him she'd fix it a bit when they got home,just trimming it a bit and making it look a bit more even. He had to admit,his head felt a lot lighter now.

As the family left the restaurant,a shrill voice rang through the air. Some say the sound,which an Irish foreigner would one day recall resembled that of a banshee wailing through the woods of Killarny,still echoes on the wind to this very day:

~I'M GOING TO BE A WHAT?!"

~Fin

Author's Notes:

I don't think Kenji has much of a personality,officially. I do see him though as having Kenshin's hair but Kaoru's eye colour. And no,I did not base him in any way (thank God) off of the OVA because I really disagree with how that was handled. Kenshin goes wandering and pretty much abandons his wife and child for 15 years,somehow contracts a skin disease which Kaoru accepts willingly (through sex!),SOMEHOW gets amnesia,and makes it home just to die in Kaoru's arms?BOOOO!(Not to mention that the writers made his scar fade upon his death as a symbol of atonement. I'm not joking.)

I kind of see Kenji as maybe a hellion in his younger years seeing as how he initially favours Kaoru but hates Kenshin for some reason. Maybe it's just a kid thing,preferring one parent over the other. And I tend to think that,given their experience,that Kenshin and Kaoru just wouldn't want Kenji to have anything to do with swords. Wooden swords are one thing,of course,but actual,metal weapons are off the table.


End file.
